Crying baby saved from water in Laos, face of disaster

Attapeu | The video of a crying baby rescued from the waters released by the collapse of a dam in Laos, after several days with his mother in a cabin surrounded by muddy waters , Friday gave a face to the victims of the disaster.

The video shot Thursday by Thai rescuers who managed the rescue was first broadcast by Lao channel ABC.

And on Friday morning, after just a few hours, the images, also broadcast on Facebook, had already been shared thousands of times.

“Thank you from Thailand for your help,” says the comment under the video.

It shows the team of Thai rescuers check the area around the village of Xaydonkhong, where about fifteen people were reported missing.

They come out of their boat and one advances, with water halfway, to trees surrounded by water.

He is seen coming back, cautiously carrying a weeping baby, followed by his mother.

“They finally managed to find the fourteen people, four men, six women including one pregnant and four children,” said Thai rescuers in a statement on Friday.

“All were exhausted and hungry after four days without food,” say those who fed them, brought up in their boat and then entrusted to Laotian soldiers to be hospitalized.

The survivors “were in a cabin at the top of a hill where they had plantations. The water went up so fast that they did not have time to think, they all ran “to escape the waves, told AFP Kengkard Bongkawong, a Thai rescuer.

“We found three families together. They ate bamboo shoots, but there were not many and they were starving, “he said.

“The little boy was crying and looking terrified. In fact they were all terrified by the water. When the rain began to fall, they were panicked, “added the rescuer.

Beyond this beautiful story, angry villagers Friday accused the Laotian authorities of minimizing the toll of the victims (27 dead), the fourth day of research to find dozens of missing.

Billions of tons of water poured out Monday night into this remote area of ​​southern Laos, engulfing villages to neighboring Cambodia.